my peeps, cheeps and chirps

         For years I have tried to find a way to combine my love of stitching with my occupation  of artist, storyteller and illustrator. It wasn't until working on my last book that I decided upon the perfect marriage of the two. Hopalong Hollow books are populated with countless fuzzy and feathered creatures and a few have already come to life via needle and thread, you've seen them here before; Mamsey Bear, Fiona Goosefeathers and Dimity Doormouse. Last week I began to create a few of the bird-folk of the Hollow. I have never sewn a bird before, but I admire the work of many fabulous artists that work in felting and mohair. I have much to learn from my best teachers, TRIAL and ERROR. I first purchased a pattern for a chick and then tossed it. The chick looked more like a flat mouse.  So I made my own pattern for a baby chick.
 Her beak is not quite correct..baby chicks have sharp pointy little beaks. I will have to work on making better beaks.
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Other than that, she was pretty simple and straightforward. 
I made a green tomato pin cushion for her to sit on. Gotta fix that beak!

  I readjusted my pattern and got a bit more courageous in my attempt to make a chickadee.
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But she looked a little odd for a chickadee, and so SHE became a He and turned into a little wren,

 in a top hat.
He is made with mohair and wool felt. He's a bit disheveled, which is why I made his top hat a bit raggedy.

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  He looks like quite a dandy little bloke and I expect to hear a cockney accent as soon as he chirps.

 

 My next Featherfoot DID look rather more like a Chickadee.
I need more stuffing in that pin cushion, though.

 I used brown wool felt fabric and white mohair .

One of my senior cats mistook her for the real thing and I had to put her way up high on  a shelf.
Next I made a little bluebird using dyed wool felt fabric.

 I think she is quite sweet and I like the downward tilt of the beak, I'm improving a bit at shaping the beaks.

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 I embellished her seams with  simple feather stitches and a blanket stitch. 

 This Featherfoot  was meant to be a Robin Red breast but she is more of a Robin Pink Breast.  I dyed the mohair to match the pink in the foxgloves of the fabric tuffet upon which she sits.

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This fabric is from my "Hopalong Jack" line with Northcott.

 Her body consists of 4 different mohairs and

I made her beak with wool felt.

She has a lovely long nose, but I should do a bit of shading on it with copic pens or acrylic paint. Any suggestions on what to use for shading mohair and felt? I am new to all this!

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She's  the biggest bird. You know, her profile looks a lot like Esther. Maybe that is why I love her best of all.

My birds are all a bit amateurish, but I will get better at this. I know I will!

You may wonder what I intend to do with ALL these pincushions? Well, I will NEED a lot of pins (and I like the company of birds as I sew)... for it is my goal to stitch EVERYONE in Hopalong Hollow.

 Next come the Rabbits...or the mice..or the chippys...

I can't decide!

What do you think? BUNS? MORE BIRDS?

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This is fun...one day later.. I decided to work on buns for Easter.

A gray rabbit will be my first... this must be Winky Fuzzyfoot..,

and the gang.

Win a first edition copy of Mamsey Bear and Mopkin..

When the books arrive on Dec 18th, I will draw 3 names for a First Edition copy of the new book. (If you have already pre-ordered, and your name is chosen, you will be reimbursed).

 (This is the back of the jacket)

  Fed Ex brought a package this week. It was nerve wracking, I asked James to open the box while I snapped away with the camera to preserve "the moment".

He peeled away the brown paper and there they were, 5 carefully stacked books.
My precious little pile of advance copies.I have been chronicling the creation of this book for 2 years on this blog and my website, so this was a special moment for us.

 I was seriously  D E L I G H T E D at the jackets.. would the interiors be just as good??! With trepidation I open the book to peek inside....and Hallelujah! I love it, I love it! Thank you Printers!  Thank you Dan the layout man! Thank you dear husband and support system! Thank you God!

Welcome Book 3 in the Hopalong Hollow Set.

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       There is just something about a freshly printed book. Turning the pages for the 1st time, the colors envelop me with the warm rusts and ochre of Autumn and I can still smell the ink that created all those colors on the thick, smooth paper. I lovingly run my hand over the surface of each page and count the perfect nine stitches down the center of the page in this smythe sewn copy, studying each illustration to see that the art meets perfectly in the middle of the seam. Is the text clearly visible throughout the book and easy to read? Yes, it is; white text on dark backgrounds and black text on pale backgrounds. Is the embossing perfectly lined up to enhance the little bird "carvings" on the book jacket? Yes, and it feels lovely as I run my finger over the delicate indentations.  Somehow, even the illustrations seem fresher and more vibrant than ever before. I quietly read my story for the hundredth time, but this time is different, for now, I am not reading from my messy sketch book, or my neatly typed manuscript, I am reading it FROM MY BOOK.

  It is a wonderful thing to behold the artwork which spent so much time in  a satchel, having  been reborn as a new entity in the pages of a book. I am quite certain that all authors and illustrators must feel this quiet and sweet satisfaction when they hold in their hands the final result of much love and labor; ones own book.

I immediately wrote a special message on a pure white page in one of these 5 precious copies, to send to my mother in Colorado. After all, she is the epitome of what this story is all about. She will be the first person ( besides James and me) to read this book.

 Now I am  pleased to offer my new book 
"Mamsey Bear and Mopkin"
 to those of you who wish to pre-order.

     We expect the bulk shipment to arrive here on December 18th. At this moment, the books are on a freighter from

Hong Kong and heading for port in Seattle, Wash. then on to Chicago and finally, here, in Tennessee. There are 3000 copies in this run and it is my tradition to number the first 50 books in the first edition. . So if you want a numbered copy order soon  !(Update 11/15, those first 50 numbered books are now taken)

 If you were to see my book in the book store, you would be able to flip through the pages, but since this IS my bookstore for now, imagine you are at Market Day in the Hollow, browsing the books in Milliken Butterfields caravan book shop.

Here you are offered a nice glimpse of Mamsey Bear's world. It is a world of nature,
rich illustrative detail, a mother's love, and hundreds of tiny stitches.

For a synopsis of the story and
for ordering information follow this link to my website:
http://www.jerilanders.com/Mamsey%20Purchase%20Page.htm
. Some of you have already emailed me about ordering and your names have been noted in my little "order book". Thank you! I will also be taking book orders at the
art shows seen on my show schedule.

 I guess you could say this is my virtual "Book Launch". I hope those of you whom I have met at shows, those who have enjoyed my other books and my lovely blogger friends, will join me in celebrating my third book in the Hopalong Hollow Series. Thank you for following along on this journey. All of you have been wonderful companions. Don't forget to leave a message if you wish to be entered in the drawing!
Now I will spend the next several months promoting and selling this book before I begin work on book 4... a tale about a Moose. 

 Jeri's email: jeri@hopalonggreetings.com

Gardens as art

I have been busily finishing up the last page of illustration for my book. But each day must include a few moments away from brushes and paint pots to walk my gardens.

  I've always thought that planting a garden is a bit like creating a painting.

 You start with a blank canvas, then apply colors, shapes. designs and images in a pleasing

manner.

  Hopefully, when you are finished, you will have something quite glorious.

 It is interesting to note how often the paintings in this current book, reflect the "paintings in my garden"

 For example, my fence is almost identical to Mamsey Bears..

    But hers is whitewashed.

We have a little pump suspiciously similar to this one.

As tomatoes grow up a trellis...

Beans grow into a "tree", In the Potager.

Flowers spontaneously "combust"!

 
 In joyous confusion!
Culinary delights please the eye,

   AND the palate

Wisteria and honeysuckle sensuously twist and tangle their way to the tops of trees and rooftops

 

  and pathways are lined in the color BLUE.

 and purple too.

 Gardens exist for everyone to enjoy.

Just like storybooks and art.

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   Is it possible to love ones  gardens  as much as one loves books and stories and music?

  I think so.

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All the sections of illustration are from my book "Mamsey Bear and Mopkin"

and I am merely brush strokes away from finishing the Book Jacket, that is the last piece I usually do.

Next, I have just a few odds and ends to "tie up". Soon, off to editing and then to the printer.